Monday, August 12, 2013

The moment did finally arrive. The much awaited merger between Janata Party & Bhartiya Janata Party formally took place yesterday ( August 11, 2013) .Leaders of BJP met with Janata party President Dr Subramanian Swamy in the evening at 6.15 PM at the residence of BJP President Shri Raj Nath Singh.Those present were Sarva Shri Raj Nath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley and Subramanian Swamy. They deliberated for about an hour and around 7.30 PM ,press/ media photographers were called in for short briefing . BJP President said that he was happy to welcome Dr Swamy and his colleagues in BJP. Dr Swamy has been with Jan sangh and by his joining BJP, the party will be strengthened. He offered a bouquet of roses to Dr Swamy.Dr Swamy told the media that " I am happy . It is the need of the hour to consolidate nationalist forces. I will work with my old friends to strengthen BJP".

Thursday, July 4, 2013

I have been getting phone calls from Janata party workers from different places since this afternoon, to ask whether JP has merged with BJP ? The reason for this flood of calls was Dr Swamy's answer to a question from a waiting TV correspondent after Dr Swamy met with Gujarat CM Mr Narendra Modi this morning in New Delhi.Janata Party President said to the TV correspondents that ' I am an old Jansanghi. We are a parivar. Narendra Modi is an old friend for years, We have similar policies. We are willing to work together. If BJP wants, I am ready to merge my party with BJP' May be the last sentence was too HOT a news for some correspondents. They flashed it immediately. India Today released it on its website,followed by India News Channel . Since India News TV channel was flashing it as 'Breaking news', it spread faster. But this should not come as a surprise. Janata Party is already part of the NDA. On most of the political ,social, economic issues the two parties think alike. Most of the Janata Party workers and office bearers have been active in it's earlier avatar Bhartiya Jana Sangh . Dr Swamy entered Rajya Sabha for the first time as a member of Jan Sangh only .For past several years Janata party President Dr Subramanian Swamy has been a very vocal politician highlighting issues which BJP also swears by. Dr Swamy has emerged as a champion of the Hindutva cause through his speeches and active work on the ground.Entire Hindu Community ( barring a few SICKularists) consider Dr Swamy as a leader who deserves the credit for restoration of staus-quo on Ram Sethu . But for his active role in courts ,the mark of Hindu heritage would have been destroyed by UPA government.We all know that it was Dr Swamy who persuaded Chinese authorities to open the doors of Holy shrine Kailash Man-Sarovar in 1980 . Dr Swamy himself went to Kailash Man Sarovar in the first group in 1980. Be it the issue of religious conversion, the Ram-Lala temple in Ayodhya, the issue of management of Hindu temples and holy shrines, Tirupathi Devasthanam issue, the harassment and political vendetta against Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti peetham, the evils of caste system, fight against religious reservations to minorities, brutal violence against Baba Ramdev & his followers, Dr Subramanian Swamy has proved his might & resolve to fight.BJP only stands to gain by the merger of Janata Party as a new force will ,then ,be available to BJP.Dr Swamy has always stood for consolidation of nationalist forces and has been fighting against anti national corrupt forces which now UPA leads. In this true spirit of consolidation of nationalist forces, Dr Swamy has made this offer to merge his party . If BJP agrees ,it will only boost the morale of the common worker of BJP also, who now counts Dr Swamy as a great patriot,statesman and a tall leader. Janata party has all along supported the move to work closely with BJP and other like minded groups . In the national executive meeting of Janata party on 17th March in New Delhi ( later on endorsed fully by the national council meeting of Janata Party , which was attended by representative of 17 state units), the resolution was adopted to work with BJP and if necessary merge with BJP to consolidate nationalist forces. Now since Dr Swamy has made it public through the media , it is for the BJP to respond. The nation is waiting . This unification of 'Janata-Sangh Parivar' is in the national interest. - Arvind Chaturvedi National General Secretary,Janata Party

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Many different departments of the Government of India have been spending public money on Iftar parties . Despite a clear directive from the ministry of finance not to spend public money on such religious parties , various departments continue to do that. According to a news item published in August 6, 2012 issue of Indian Express Online ( Full news item reproduced here from Internet), the PMO, External Affairs Ministry ,LOk Sabha & Rajya Sabha Secretariat and the CPWD have spent Rs. 1.75 Crores over the past 10 years. Janata Party President Dr Subramanian Swamy has asked the External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid to ask whether the minister would consider similar funds for parties related to Hindu festivals also . The text of the letter written by Dr Swamy and the original news item ,are reproduced here.

July 2, 2013.

Mr. Salman Khurshid,

Minister of External Affairs,

South Block,

New Delhi.

Dear Salman,

With this letter I enclose a news item
posted online in Indian Express of August 6, 2012 regarding the expenses out of
public funds by the Ministry of External Affairs and other Departments for meeting the expenses on Iftar
parties. I write to
ask whether you would consider also providing funds for the celebration of Holi
and Deepavali or will such expenses be confined only for Iftar parties. If so, why so?

The Prime Minister's
Office, External Affairs Ministry, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats and
Central Public Works Department (CPW-D) have spent Rs 1.75 crore on 18 iftar
parties over the past 10 years even though the Ministry of Finance (MoF)
maintains that public funds can't be used for such events.

In fact, responses of different departments to an RTI application filed by
The Indian Express, seeking details of expenses on iftar parties — not a few of
which were hosted in the past decade — reveal a lack of clarity about rules
regarding such expenditure. While the MoF's Department of Expenditure said
expenses on iftar parties are not allowed from the state exchequer — it also
said the host departments didn't seek its permission for such parties — other
departments maintained otherwise.

The Rajya Sabha Secretariat, which has spent Rs 22.75 lakh on five iftar
parties since 2007-08, said: "Yes, the secretariat bears expenses incurred
in this regard." When asked under which rule, it replied: "There is
no rule. It is as per the convention." It, however, added that
"expenditure is met on shared basis in the ratio of 2:1 between the Rajya
Sabha Secretariat and the Ministry of External Affairs."

The Lok Sabha Secretariat said spending public money on iftar parties was
allowed and that it has spent Rs 5.83 lakh on two such parties in 2010 and
2011. "Expenditure on iftar parties is met from the hospitality grant of
the Lok Sabha Secretariat," it added.

The PMO's response to the RTI request, on the other hand, was interesting:
its reply to almost all queries about iftar parties was that "information
sought is not a part of records held by this office". The PMO has hosted
six iftar parties since 2004 at a cost of Rs 1.03 crore, which, it said, was
borne by the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) and the CPWD.

The MEA, on its part, said it has spent about Rs 41.48 lakh on 10 iftar
parties, including the ones hosted by the PMO, since 2004. But to all other
queries on the matter, it replied: "No specific information
available".

- See more at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mof-says-can-t-spend-public-money-on-iftar-but-govt-spent-rs-1.75-cr-in-10-yrs/984300/0#sthash.sly2MBN1.dpuf

Janata Party President Dr Subramanian swamy has questioned bi-lateral deal on airline seats and the agreement between Jet Airways and Etihad airline.

Dr Swamy has written two letters to PM on the issue and has brought out the fear that it is likely to be a security risk to India. On Tuesday Dr Swamy was interviewed by CNBC-TV18 on this issue, which was carried out on the website moneycontrol.com. The same is being reproduced here .

Cancel Jet deal; will
move court to stop Air Asia: Swamy

Speaking to CNBC-TV18,
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said he is vehemently opposed the idea
of Air Asia operating out of India, saying he will move court to stop it from
taking off.

Even
though the PMO has asserted that government is not divided over the air
services agreement between India and Abu Dhabi, cracks are apparent. That the
trouble for the Rs 2058-crore deal was far from over became clear when the PMO
advised the ministry of civil aviation to consider a calibrated approach
towards aviation deals.

Q:Before
I actually get to the objections that you have raised as far as the Jet-Etihad
deal is concerned, let me ask you about why you are opposing the AirAsia deal?
You have said this morning that you want the AirAsia deal scrapped. What is
your objection to the AirAsia deal?

A:The policy was very clear that
there are two aspects of it. One is that foreign investment is only permitted
for an existing airline. There is no existing airline here in India. Tata is
not an existing airline, therefore I have a good opinion about AirAsia.

Q:If you
have a good opinion about them, if the Indian consumer stands to benefit, then
why would you oppose this particular transaction. Why are you opposing this
particular deal and even as far as the foreign direct investment (FDI)
regulation is concerned, that matter was clarified by the Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)?

A:They have not clarified it.
The civil aviation ministry has stated in the Foreign Investment Promotion
Board (FIPB) that this is against the regulations that it has to be an existing
airline. Ajit Singh said to one of the leading newspaper that under no
circumstances it can be given to any airline which is not existing.

Q:If we
are living by regulations, the FIPB has taken a decision to allow AirAsia to
operate in this country. The FIPB, which has had consultations with each and
every ministry that you just talked about, has said that AirAsia is okay with
flying in this country?

A:The FIPB is one of the most
scandalous bodies of India under Chidambaram’s leadership. It did so in the
Aircel-Maxis also and it has done it in this and when I challenge it in court,
I will bring it out. How did they disregard this fundamental regulation?

Q:Is
your objection against the FIPB or is your objection against Chidambaram?

A:Both combined. There is no
difference between the two.

Q:So are
you saying that even as far as the AirAsia matter is concerned that you are
going to move court?

A:Of course, I may move earlier
than this one because I think Jet and Etihad is going to take a long time to
finalise.

Q:So you
are saying that you will actually move on AirAsia before you will move the
Supreme Court against Jet-Etihad?

A:Yes, because Jet-Etihad is
going to take a long time to consider. It’s not going to be cleared soon.

Q:If you
are now saying that Jet-Etihad will take a long time to clear. Through the day
and in your letter to the Prime Minister, you have been talking about the sense
of urgency, the haste that the government has shown in trying to clear this
deal. You yourself are now saying that the Jet-Etihad deal is far from being
cleared?

A:Thanks to my letter it is
going to be delayed. Otherwise it would have been cleared by now.

Q:So,
you are taking credit for the fact that the government hasn’t acted on giving it
clearance?

A:I am not taking credit. I
wrote a letter and the action followed immediately after my letter. Actions
speak louder than anything, I might say.

Q:Lets
look at the facts and lets leave conjecture aside. The Indian government has
not signed the bi-lateral agreement with the Abu Dhabi government so far. As
far as the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance is concerned,
the Jet-Etihad deal has not been cleared by the FIPB the matter was deferred
again. As far as Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi's) clearance is
concerned, the matter has not been cleared by Sebi. As far as the competition
commission of India (CCI) is concerned, the matter has not been cleared by the
CCI as yet. So, perhaps are you being a bit premature in pronouncing the fact
that this deal ought to be scrapped?

A:Had I not written the letter
on May 28, the FIPB would have cleared it on June 11. That was the
understanding that I have on the basis of what people told me.

May of
them are members of the FIPB meeting. It’s because of my letter that this
happened. So, its not premature, it was very well timed. It was at the right
time.

When I
saw that they were even disregarding the parliamentary committee, standing
committee report I thought the time had come for me to write a letter. I wrote
a letter to the Prime Minister to say that if the deal gets cleared, he would
be culpable under Section 13 of the prevention of corruption Act.

Q:What
is your biggest objection? Is your objection the bilateral agreement or is it
the ownership issue?

A:If my biggest objection has to
be summarised, it is that the Indian airlines industry is sought to be wrecked
by four ministers who have some other motives other than national interest.

Q:You
are saying that you will move the Supreme Court against AirAsia’s deal, but you
will not move the Supreme Court against Jet-Etihad atleast not as of now?

A:Yes, till they take a decision
I can't move. I will go to the Supreme Court as far as AirAsia is concerned.

Q:They
have crossed the FIPB, but they are yet to get a licence to fly?

A:FIPB is an illegal decision.
So, I have a cause of action. There is no decision where I can take cause of
actions in the court. You must know the requirements of the court before I can
go to court.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Dr Subramanian Swamy was in China recently to attend the World Peace Forum Meeting , at Beijing. World leaders and security & peace experts from different countries attended the meeting. Dr Swamy was the only one from India to discuss the security threats and the solutions.

Dr Swamy was interviwed by several journalists reporting at the WPF. He was specially invited to be interviewed by the Programme (Audio ) People in The Know.

The interview was recorded in MP3 format and the same is presented here along with the introduction of the programme as obtained courtesy CriEnglish .com

http://mod.cri.cn/eng/features/pik/2013/07/0703pik.mp3

The world is facing a raft of security challenges, both traditional and new in kind. Asia, a high-flying continent with great political, historical, social and ethical diversity, is not immune from these challenges. The ongoing conflict in Syria, the resurgence of Islamic radical groups and rising tensions in territorial disputes among Asian nations has become a major source of instability and threat. Starting from Wednesday, the People in the know program will assess the security situation in Asia and China's role in bringing peace to the region. In the first edition of our series on Asian security, we take a look at south Asia with a special focus on India and Pakistan.So how can China and India forge deeper mutual trust and solve their border dispute in a timely and peaceful manner? What efforts can China and Pakistan jointly make to tackle security challenges, especially those posed by extremism in the region?Ni Hao, you're listening to People In the Know, bringing you insights into headline news in China and around the World, I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing.We speak to Dr. Subramanian Swamy, former Cabinet Minister of Commerce, Law and Justice, Government of India, now President of India's Janata Party. We caught up with him at the World Peace Forum, recently held in Beijing and Riaz Hussain Khokahar, Pakistan's former Foreign Secretary.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Rise in Muslim population due to migration from Bangladesh, says Subramanian Swamy

‘B’desh migrants adding to Muslim population’

Mumbai: Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said the increase in population among Muslims in India is due to the burgeoning illegal migration from neighbouring nation Bangladesh.

"Growing population among Muslims is due to the migration from Bangladesh. The neighbouring country needs to be firmly told to take back their people," Swamy said at a book release function ‘Muslim Jansankhya: Ek Chinta' published in Marathi and Hindi.

On Article 370 of the constitution for Jammu and Kashmir, Swamy said it can be repealed through a presidential notification. “There is no need for a parliamentary vote,” he added.

- See more at: http://post.jagran.com/rise-in-muslim-population-due-1372644616#sthash.NzOwpKDu.dpuf

Dr.
Swamy Rubbishes claims that Telangana would not be economically viable

New Delhi : Janata Party
President Subramanian Swamy on Monday said that any Telangana package should be
rejected outright, as nothing short of separate Telangana would do. There
should be no compromise on this basic demand, he said.

A publication ‘A Rebuttal to
Visalandhra Goebbels Propaganda’ brought out by Telangana Development Forum,
US, to reject the claims of Vishalandhra Mahasabha against the demand for
separate Telangana State. The publication was released by Dr Subramanian
Swamy. The author Konatham Dilip ,Delhi TJAC Convener D Ramakrishna Reddy &
Sriram Vedire were present on the occasion.

Dr Subramanian Swamy praised
the effort of the Telangana Development Forum to counter the claims of
Vishalandhra Mahasabha. “In a democracy, it is important to challenge false
propaganda. Even during the Emergency, the false propaganda was challenged
through underground literature,” he said.

The NDA, he said, is all for
Telangana and if the NDA comes to power, he will do everything in his power to
ensure the creation of Telangana. Dr Swamy said, “You are closest to achieving
Telangana. In 2014, we should have the celebrations meeting in Hyderabad, after
the creation of Telangana.”

“Telangana activists should
never despair. One does not know when Telangana may happen,” he said. Citing
from history, he said when the Quit India Movement collapsed in 1944, people
gave up hope of achieving Independence. But it happened in 1947. Again, during
the Emergency, when he managed to escape, there was not even a whimper of
protest. “People used to ask me, how will things go on like this? I had no
answer. Indira Gandhi made a foolish decision and called elections and she lost
all over the country and she was defeated in her own constituency. When it all
seems impossible, things suddenly happen,” Dr Swamy said.

Two
States would be a credit to Telugus
Citing solid reasons for creation of Telangana, he said: “Andhra Pradesh is too
large a State; there is no dispute over language and it would be a credit if
there are two Telugu-speaking States. There has been a consistent demand for
separate State.” He rubbished the claim that Telangana is not viable
economically. If it is true then trade between States is always an option open
to it

(Based on report
by Venkat Parsa in The Hans India
)

In the Photo : Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy (fourth from left) and Justice
Rajinder Sachar (third from left) releasing the CD format of publication ‘A
Rebuttal to Visalandhra Goebbels Propaganda’ in New Delhi on Monday.
Academician Gautam Pingle (second from right) and others also seen